Officials, including the Consul General of China in Houston Cai Wei, get their photos taken in front of the newly unveiled Taihu rock. [MAY ZHOU / CHINA DAILY]
"Our vibrant sister-city relationship with Wuxi has featured a number of exchanges increasing the global diplomacy of residents in both cities. As chairman of Sister Cities International, the importance of cultural activities and exchanges is all the more relevant at a time like this. Culture is the glue that holds everything together and through which we celebrate our shared humanity," Nirenberg said.
Cai called the Taihu rock a milestone for friendly exchanges between the two cities and a symbol of building more connections.
"We are glad to see the precious Taihu rock to be placed along the lovely and tranquil riverside as a unique decoration of the city and a symbol of long-lasting friendship," Cai said.
Sun Guoxiang, vice secretary-general of Standing Committee of Wuxi Municipal People's Congress, led a delegation of seven at the dedication.
"We have had extensive exchanges with city officials and museum staff to learn about their cultural event ideas in the last two days. We are amazed to learn that the annual Fiesta San Antonio has had 120 years of history and held more than 100 events each year. We could learn something from that," Sun said.
Wuxi Museum brings 30 art objects primarily from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to showcase the art and lifestyle of ancient Chinese scholars. [MAY ZHOU / CHINA DAILY]
Porous rock is an important aesthetic symbol in Chinese tradition and especially appreciated among Chinese scholars. In order to help Americans to better understand this Chinese art form, Wuxi Museum brought 30 art objects primarily from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to showcase the art and lifestyle of ancient Chinese scholars. The exhibition will last until Feb 9, 2020 at SAMA.
Art patrons Barbara and George Williams and Rose and John Hendra have made major contributions to make the project possible.
"My husband was born in China. We took our family of 12 to China [in the late 1990s]. We went to Beijing, Shanghai, and ended up in Wuxi. We are very privileged to have the rock made available to SAMA," said Rose Hendra.
"It's a wonderful idea to connect the cities and countries, because in this world, we are too separated. We don't collaborate enough. We don't see the commonality that we all have as human beings. That's primarily our reason to support this project," said Barbara Williams.
